AI Regulation and the Future of US Leadership

Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection

2025-05-21

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This Energy and Commerce Committee hearing examines how Congress can support innovation in artificial intelligence without ceding leadership to foreign counterparts. The panel discusses the risks of a patchwork of state AI laws, concerns about the European Union's AI Act and its potential impact on U.S. competitiveness, and the debate over a 10-year moratorium that would block state enforcement of AI-related consumer protections. Key witnesses including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AI Now Institute, and General Catalyst emphasize the need for a national, technology-neutral regulatory framework to enable American innovation while ensuring consumer safety. The hearing highlights real-world harms such as AI chatbots that contributed to a teen's suicide, deepfakes, and opaque algorithms in healthcare, and calls for strong, bipartisan data privacy standards and transparency requirements that do not suppress innovation.

Participants

Transcript

Good morning, everyone.  Before we get started, I think we should have a moment of silent prayer.  One moment of silent prayer for our good friend, Jerry Conley, who passed away this morning.   Thank you.  May his memory be eternal.
The committee will now come to order.  Thanks to everyone, especially our witnesses, for joining us today for today's hearing on AI regulation and the future of U.S. leadership.  At the outset, I want to recognize Ranking Member Schakowsky   as this is our first subcommittee hearing since she announced her retirement.  We're going to miss you.  She's been a welcome partner over the last four and a half years.  Together, we were able to secure better safety precautions for women with the Fair Crash Tests Act.  During the pandemic, we worked tirelessly to support the travel and tourism industry at a time of unprecedented challenges.   This bond culminated in the Ticket Act and much more, which strengthens consumer protections in the ticketing marketplace.  Congress and the ENC, Energy and Commerce, of course, won't be the same without ranking member Schakowsky, but her legacy will be long remembered.  So we appreciate you so very much.  Since the public release of CHAT-GPT,   AI has become a household name.  AI products and services are being developed at breakneck speed, delivering new innovations to consumers.  These technologies can revolutionize the economy, drive economic growth, and improve our way of life.  Like every technology, however, AI can be weaponized when it is in the wrong hands, as you know.   Thankfully, AI is already regulated by longstanding laws that protect consumers.  Because of the great potential of these technologies, Congress must be careful when we impose additional obligations on AI developers and deployers.
Our task is to protect our citizens and ensure that we don't cede U.S. AI leadership.  Much of the AI marketplace is comprised of small startups looking to get it   a foothold in the revolutionary space.  And heavy-handed regulations made sure that the next great American company never makes it.  If we fail in this task, we risk ceding American leadership in AI to China, which is close on our heels, as you know.  Other economies are also eager to write the global AI rulebook.   often to their own detriment and the detriment of the American leadership.  The US, of course, excuse me, the EU recently enacted its own AI Act.  While it is still being implemented, the EU's complex law suffers from many of the innovation chilling effects we saw with the GDPR.  We must also keep a close watch   on whether Europe uses the AI Act and other regulations to unfairly target American companies.  We're here today to determine how Congress can support the growth of an industry that is key for American competitiveness and jobs without losing the race to write the global AI rulebook.   OUR WITNESSES TODAY WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW WE ACHIEVE THAT DREAM.  SO AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK THE WITNESSES FOR BEING HERE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR TESTIMONY.  NOW I'LL YIELD FIVE MINUTES TO THE RANKING MEMBER, MY GOOD FRIEND, MS. JAKOWSKI.  BOAR, WE ARE GOING TO MISS YOU.  SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.   And you've got much more, much more left.  So we appreciate it.
And I look forward to the good work together.  I yield to the gentle lady.
Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, gospel Iraqis.  I am so happy to hear your words and I support you.  I am so grateful to you.   um i will be here another about a year and a and a half um so don't get too comfortable um and uh i i appreciate it um today we are um you know we we are discussing um what is happening with um how we're protecting consumers that's what i'm always   always thinking about, and the very idea that we are going to allow 10 years of right for the intelligence, no, for.  Being exposed to scams and having their data stolen.

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